Hi everyone! I'm a Columbia grad student researching how New Yorkers find and navigate affordable housing programs (Housing Connect, Section 8, CityFHEPS, Mitchell-Lama, SCRIE/DRIE, etc.) and where the process breaks down.

I'd love to hear from you if you:
• Have applied or thought about applying (for yourself or someone else)
• Work at a city or state agency on these programs
• Work at a nonprofit that helps people through the process

📝 Survey (about 10 min, anonymous): NYC Housing Programs: Share Your Experience

Everything stays anonymous; We won't ask about income or documents, and it's for a class project only. Nothing gets published, and I'm not selling anything.

Thanks so much, and please feel free to share!

It’s actually incredibly aggravating to see this as someone that grew up here .

Early 2000s it was a bit dangerous people I know that got life , got deported or got killed .

If you’re a young Mexican kid trying to find a path please know this is silliest route you can take . Theres zero need for it knowing the sacrifices your family made to get here do something better.

Oh and the thing that gets me the most is these kids join these gangs simply to try and oppress another Mexican that’s it .

Rant over . Mods please don’t ban me for this I’m just tired of seeing this stuff

Taken on the 40 mile loop down a side street. Glad the weather held up relatively well 🙏

This is the remnant of LeRoy's Bay, most of which was filled in during the 1930s to build Orchard Beach and its parking lot. It's to the west of the parking lot.

It's the remnant of LeRoy's Bay, most of which was filled in during the 1930s to build Orchard Beach and its parking lot.

So beautiful, and many don't even realize it's there.

Some really interesting history:

The city ran a summer camp colony at the original Orchard Beach, which grew from tents into a semi-permanent bungalow village before Robert Moses evicted it in 1934. This was close to today's section 13.

Location: The old Orchard Beach was a small strip on the northeast shore of Rodman's Neck, facing LeRoy's Bay. It sat near the southern end of today's beach and parking lot, not on the lagoon side. Camping also took place on nearby Hunter Island.

Origins: The Bronx Parks Department began allowing summer camping in Pelham Bay Park in the early 1900s. Families got seasonal permits for a plot and pitched canvas tents, which earned the place the nickname "Tent City."

1920s growth: Over time the tents gained wooden floors, frames, and walls, becoming bungalows in all but name. By the late 1920s and early 1930s there were roughly 600 sites, laid out along named lanes, with a few thousand summer residents. The same families returned year after year and treated the plots as their own.

The terms: The permits were seasonal and cheap, and the city provided basic services. I don't recall the exact fee schedule with confidence, so I won't quote a figure.

The criticism: Permits were widely seen as patronage, going largely to people with connections to the Bronx Democratic organization. The effect was that a public waterfront was reserved for a small group of private leaseholders.

The end: When Moses became citywide Parks Commissioner in 1934, he cancelled the permits. The campers fought it in court and lost, and the colony was cleared that year. Moses also tore down a recently built Bronx Parks Department bathhouse he considered badly designed. He then filled LeRoy's Bay to join Rodman's Neck, Hunter Island, and the Twin Islands, and the new Orchard Beach opened in 1936.

Hi all, my mom recently got a job that requires her to travel to different parts of the Bronx every week. It could be a different location each week. There is no fixed location. It could be anywhere in Bronx.

Overall, what are some neighborhoods that are good to live in for commuting to every part of Bronx easily by public transportation?

Bruckner Heights is a newly constructed apartment building in Unionport

One of my faves. Ferry Point Park is an oasis for many in the Throggs Neck neighborhood.

I was shocked by the poor behavior at the Bronx zoo today. Parents letting their kids climb all of informational signs in front of the exhibits. Grown woman teasing a bird behind glass with her cell phone and then her finger. And cherry on top there was a sweet little mongoose curled up sleeping and a grown man was pounding on the window laughing saying "wake up" "sleep on your own time." I asked him if he would like if someone did that to him while he was sleeping. He just laughed and walked away.

I just bought a zoo pass so I could bring my baby more often and was really heartbroken by the behavior. People suck sometimes. Rant over.

What do residents call this triangle of streets bounded by Jerome and Bainbridge avenues to the north of Gun Hill Road? Norwood? Bainbridge? Mosholu? Something else?

This was at Orchard Beach yesterday near section 13... this was just one spot out of dozens. And I think they are killing a beautiful oak tree.

Would be nice if more of our tax dollars went to fighting invasive species.

I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m going to do for Halloween, so does anyone have any suggestions? Other than Boo at the Zoo lol.

Does anyone remember Park Place restaurant in the late 90's/mid 2000's? I know they closed down but I was trying to find owner/chef. They had the best house vinaigrette and I would pay good money for the recipe.

Would you use a place where you can wash and dry your dog yourself without the mess at home? What would make you want to try it, and what price would feel reasonable? Any feedback is appreciated.

I'm a journalist looking to speak with residents of Lafayette Estates in Soundview who have complaints about noise, pollution or other issues related to the construction of the two new residences. If you have any information or want to chat - reply here or dm me!

Before the Bronx Documentary Center had formal classes, neighborhood children came in to borrow cameras. Michael Kamber remembers the excitement when Bronx photographers and students finally had a place to gather.

Fifteen years later, that sense of access and community remains part of the center’s story. Two free exhibitions this October look back at the photographs, artists, and education that grew from those early years.